Commencement ceremony awards record number of diplomas

By Mark Schulman
Assistant Editor

UNCP will be rewarding a record number of diplomas to 400 students at its fifth annual
Winter Commencement.

The event will be at GPAC on Saturday, Dec.
13 at 10 a.m. The 2003 winner of the UNC
Board of Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence Dr. Jeffery Geller will be the
keynote speaker.

Since the ceremony’s introduction in 1999, the number of students graduating has increased.
This year, the university is only giving five tickets to each graduate for friends and family members.

Guests with tickets will be able to attend on a first come, first serve basis.

“Doors to the GPAC will close at 9:45 a.m. No one will be admitted after this time. If the GPAC reaches capacity prior to 9:45, guests will be escorted to the [U.C.] No exceptions,” said David Thaggard, assistant director of GPAC, in an e-mail.

For those left behind, the ceremony will be simulcast in the U.C.

Public relations major McKenzie Cook will be granted her diploma at the commencement ceremony.

“I am really excited about graduating; however, I really hate it that some of my family is going to have to wait outside due to lack of tickets,” she said.

Faculty and staff members will not be able to obtain additional tickets from the university, according to an e-mail from Dr. Glen Burnette, vice chancellor for university relations.

There will also be no standing room only because of the marching and movement of the ceremony.

For those fortunate to attend the commencement, they will have the opportunity to listen to Geller.

Geller received his Ph.D. from Duke University and has been teaching at UNCP for 20 years. He is now serving his first term as the Department Chair of Philosophy and Religion.

“Though I am honored and grateful to get the Board of Governors Teaching Award, it’s clear that there were many (probably most of the faculty) who were equally deserving. So I feel as though I won the lottery.”

There will be plenty of refreshments after the ceremony for all students, faculty, family and friends in the U.C.